Functional mushrooms and epilepsy explored in new study

Hi there 🍄 

This week’s highlights include the results of MycoMedicinals' 2-year survey and a mushroom stew recipe that you’ll keep on repeat.

Functional mushrooms and epilepsy

A light in the dark 🕯️ In the United States, epilepsy affects approximately 3.4 million individuals, including 470,000 children, with about 30 to 40% of these patients not responding to conventional medications, according to the CDC. Now, an incredible collaborative effort between Lily’s Lighthouse and Realm of Caring aims to study the anticonvulsant properties of functional mushrooms through an observational study, hoping to provide new avenues for those unaided by traditional therapies.

• Lily’s story 💜 Founded by Sarah-Kate Boylan, Lily’s Lighthouse is a nonprofit to seek innovative non-traditional treatments for intractable epilepsy. Lily was just 5 weeks old when she was diagnosed and for over 7 years, Lily and her family were in and out of hospitals trying to manage her condition. In 2021, Lily’s mom Sarah discovered studies on the benefits of functional mushrooms and dove headfirst into the research. With continuous use of functional mushrooms alongside anti-seizure medication, Lily went from having an average of 50 seizures a day to roughly one every few months.

• Early potential 🧠 Early observations suggest reishi mushrooms possess anticonvulsant properties, while lion’s mane mushrooms can foster neural regeneration, offering promising avenues for epilepsy treatment.

• Observational study goals 📋️ Unlimited Sciences and Realm of Caring, led by Dr. Matthew X. Lowe, are spearheading the study, leveraging their expertise in non-traditional therapies and patient advocacy to push the research forward. By collecting data from individuals using functional mushrooms for epilepsy, the study seeks to validate the safety and effectiveness of these natural therapies to guide future clinical research. 👉️ Read more.

Right now, the study is looking for participants. If you or someone you know suffers from epilepsy and has explored functional mushrooms as a treatment or plans to, please share this link. Please also consider donating to help fund the research if you are able to do so.

Psilocybin and OCD

A new approach 👓️ Researchers at Yale University are embarking on a groundbreaking clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of psilocybin for treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The trial aims to offer new insights into psilocybin's potential as a treatment, particularly for patients who have not found relief through traditional medications and therapies.

• Trial structure 📋️ The study is the first of its kind to use a randomized, waitlist-controlled, and blinded approach, along with non-directive psychological support, to explore psilocybin's efficacy for OCD treatment.

• Potential impact 🧠 Psilocybin has shown promise in treating a variety of psychiatric conditions by enhancing neural plasticity and disrupting established patterns of thought and behavior, which could be particularly beneficial for OCD sufferers.

• Study design 🎧️ Participants aged 21 to 55 will receive two fixed doses of psilocybin in a controlled setting, with outcomes measured using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale to evaluate symptom reduction, safety, and tolerability. 👉️ Read more.

Around the web 🌐 

• 🌀 MycoMeditations' surveys, which ran for 2 years, reveal psilocybin therapy at their retreats significantly alleviates symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder, maintaining improvements for over a year post-treatment. This indicates psilocybin's potential to provide lasting mental health benefits, potentially outperforming traditional therapies observed in clinical trials.

• 🌏️ Preeti Simran Sethi wrote “Asians Have Been Largely Excluded from Psychedelics—Here’s Why That Needs to Change” for Double Blind Magazine in August, and her words still resonate. Simran is the founder of the Asian Psychedelic Collective.

• 🥘 Craving something warm and soothing for the last week of February? This 5-star Fresh and Wild Mushroom Stew has over 2,700 ratings and a comment section that will change the way you cook mushrooms forever.